For Redskins, a Dead Giveaway
Playoff Hopes All but Vanish With Loss to Lowly Bengals

By Jason Reid
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 15, 2008

CINCINNATI, Dec. 14 -- It was the worst moment of a once-promising season that many players said they feared was all but over. As they walked from the field to the locker room Sunday, the Washington Redskins struggled with the reality of a 20-13 loss to the lowly Cincinnati Bengals.

Disbelief set in along the sideline when they faced a 17-point first-half deficit against the NFL's least-productive offense, but the Redskins still thought they could salvage their playoff hopes with a strong second-half push. What occurred, however, was another disappointing finish for a team that has fallen apart in the second half of its schedule and might be on the verge of a major makeover.

"You don't want to say you're in shock, you don't want to say that you're stunned, but what else can you really say when you walk away from something like that?" safety LaRon Landry said. "You can't really say that we belonged to be in the playoffs and we're shocked we're not going now. The season is what we made it, but I'm disappointed that we're not going to the playoffs. I'm just disappointed about a lot of things, and this is real hard to take."

The Bengals (2-11-1) became the most recent team to outperform the Redskins (7-7) during their 1-5 slide that includes a three-game losing streak. Cincinnati -- last in the league in scoring with an average of 11.8 points through its first 13 games -- took control early and held off Washington's sputtering offense in front of an announced crowd of 63,996 at Paul Brown Stadium.

Even after briefly coming together in scoring 10 straight points to pull within a touchdown of the Bengals at halftime, the Redskins again lacked the finishing kick they displayed during an unexpectedly impressive start that has become a distant memory. Needing one yard for a touchdown and subsequent point-after attempt that would have tied the score on their opening drive of the second half, fullback Mike Sellers fumbled into the end zone, Cincinnati came up with the ball for a touchback and Washington never recovered.

Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis challenged a ruling that Sellers had scored on a rush into the middle of the line on the previous play, and the touchdown was reversed on review. "We didn't think he got in," Lewis said. "I thought his progress was stopped prior to scoring."

The Redskins gave the ball to Sellers again on third down, and he fumbled. Head coach and play-caller Jim Zorn threw his challenge flag about 20 yards, but the play stood as called, and the Redskins left the field in frustration.

Running back Clinton Portis rushed six times on the drive but did not touch the ball on the final three plays. "They had a great push," Sellers said of Cincinnati's defensive front. "By the time I got to the line of scrimmage, I pretty much had nowhere to go."

Said Zorn, "That play right there, that little drive that kept us from going in and tying the ballgame up, created a major flip" in momentum.

In the fourth quarter, the Bengals went on a 16-play, 41-yard drive -- place kicker Shayne Graham's 45-yard field goal extended the lead to 20-10 -- as Washington's defensive problems continued. In losses to Dallas and Baltimore during the 1-5 stretch, Washington's defense was ineffective on key drives in the final quarter.

Against the Bengals, Shaun Suisham kicked a 36-yard field goal for the Redskins in the final two minutes, but they failed to recover his onside kick, the ball bouncing out of bounds along the right sideline. Cincinnati quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (209 yards, one touchdown pass) kneeled three times to run out the clock and push the Redskins to the brink of elimination from playoff contention.

Although the Redskins mathematically still are in the hunt for an NFC wild-card berth, qualifying for the postseason no longer is their focus. Just ending a late-season slide and playing with pride in their final two games tops the team's revised to-do list, some players said, even though their new reality is painful to accept.

"The season's over as far as the playoffs, but I think our team has a lot of character as far as going out here and playing tough the last two games," defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander said. "Cincinnati is in the same predicament we're in now, they were out of it, and they came out there and they played ball. We've got to show what type of guys we have now and play ball. Is this where we wanted to be at this point in the season? No. But this is just where it is for us."

The loss capped a difficult week for Zorn. On Tuesday, Portis lashed out at Zorn, criticizing him for his communication and decision-making during his weekly radio appearance on ESPN 980's "The John Thompson Show."

Zorn and Portis said they resolved their differences in a meeting Wednesday, and Washington maintained its focus on the field in an effort to revert to form, team leaders said. The Redskins expressed confidence their 6-2 start was not a fluke, and they expected to have a breakout performance on offense against Cincinnati. Privately, some players suggested Washington could score at least 30 points for the first time despite playing without injured starting tackles Chris Samuels and Jon Jansen.

With Stephon Heyer starting at left tackle and Jason Fabini at right tackle, the Redskins had only 280 total net yards. Portis's late drop in production continued as well. Portis was heavily involved in Zorn's game plan, but he had only 77 yards on 25 rushes for a 3.1-yard average. Portis had 2.0- and 2.9-yard averages in the Redskins' previous two losses.

"It's pretty tough," said Portis, who did not question Zorn's play-calling against Cincinnati. "We had opportunities to come in here and keep our season alive, and we let it slip away. We've got to find a way to finish."

Quarterback Jason Campbell completed 17 of 28 passes for 167 yards, including a 10-yard pass to top wide receiver Santana Moss in the second quarter for Washington's only touchdown. Campbell has relied on Moss more than he would prefer throughout the season, in large part, because rookie wide receivers Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly have not developed as management envisioned.

Thomas dropped a pass against Cincinnati and had no receptions. Kelly was inactive. "It's just a matter of us continuing to try to work and get some guys more experienced," Campbell said. "Just try to keep progressing and keep improving."

Washington will face Philadelphia at FedEx Field on Sunday and will complete its schedule at San Francisco on Dec. 28. With two games remaining, the Redskins must use their time to continue to build for the future, Zorn said.

"We do have a long way to go, and I'm confident enough in my abilities to stand strong and stand firm," he said. "That's what I'm going to do."